Grayscale Withdraws Cardano, Polkadot, and Hedera ETF Registration Statements
Key Takeaways
- •Grayscale voluntarily withdrew SEC registration statements for its proposed Cardano, Polkadot, and Hedera ETFs, stating it does not plan to proceed with distribution.
- •The withdrawals were initiated by Grayscale itself and were not the result of SEC rejection or enforcement action.
- •No securities were sold and no preliminary prospectuses were distributed under the now-withdrawn registrations.
- •Since the initial ETF filings in February 2025, DOT has dropped 80%, while ADA and HBAR have each declined more than 70%.
- •Grayscale currently lists 17 ETF products on its website, including the Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF and Ethereum Staking Mini ETF.
Grayscale Withdraws Cardano, Polkadot, and Hedera ETF Registration Statements
Crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments has withdrawn registration statements for three proposed exchange-traded funds tied to Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), and Hedera (HBAR), formally abandoning the plans in filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) late Friday.
In three separate requests filed with the regulator, Grayscale stated it "does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution" of the shares of each trust. The withdrawals were initiated by Grayscale itself and do not represent rejections or enforcement actions by the SEC.
Grayscale first submitted its Cardano ETF proposal in February 2025, followed by a Polkadot filing later that same month. The corresponding ADA and DOT registration statements were filed on August 29, with the HBAR registration following on September 9. In other words, the company moved through the registration process before deciding not to continue, a reminder that ETF launches can be revised or abandoned even after filings are on the SEC's desk.
The proposed funds were structured as passive investment vehicles designed to track the value of their respective underlying tokens, net of fees and expenses. Grayscale noted that it had not sold any securities or distributed preliminary prospectuses under the now-withdrawn registrations.
All three tokens have experienced significant price declines over recent months. Year-to-date, ADA has fallen more than 41%, DOT has declined 54%, and HBAR has lost 35%. The drawdowns have been even steeper since the initial filings in late February 2025: ADA has endured a 70% decline, DOT an 80% drop, and HBAR a decrease exceeding 70%.
The withdrawals reduce Grayscale's pipeline of proposed single-token products at a time when the firm already lists a broader mix of ETFs on its website. According to the company's website, Grayscale currently has 17 ETF products listed, including the Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF, Ethereum Staking Mini ETF, and Hyperliquid Staking ETF.
CoinDesk reported that it reached out to Grayscale for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Source: CoinDesk
